Wild tea relatives in Northeast India are running out of room to survive
Alom M, Bhat NA, Mir AH, Mohanta YK, Tariq M
Climate Adaptation
Tea's wild relatives, tucked into the same family as your morning cup, are quietly disappearing from one of Earth's most biodiverse forest regions before botanists have even finished describing them.
Pyrenaria are wild trees related to the tea plant, found only in the forests of Northeast India. Researchers walked these forests, counted individual trees, and used computer models to figure out where these trees can realistically survive as climate shifts. They found that one species is boxed into a tiny patch of habitat, and across all six species, there are far more adult trees than seedlings, a warning sign that the forests aren't replacing themselves.
Key Findings
Of 167 individual Pyrenaria trees recorded, only 47 were seedlings and 21 saplings versus 99 adults, indicating severely limited natural regeneration.
The endemic species P. cherrapunjeana has a predicted suitable habitat of just 1,633 km², making it among the most range-restricted plants in the study.
MaxEnt habitat models achieved high accuracy (AUC 0.850-0.999), with mean diurnal temperature range, precipitation, and elevation as the top drivers of species distribution.
chevron_right Technical Summary
Scientists surveyed six species of Pyrenaria, a little-known flowering tree genus in Northeast India, and found that most are struggling to regenerate due to logging, mining, and agricultural encroachment. One endemic species, found only near Cherrapunji, has less than 1,633 square kilometers of suitable habitat left, making it a priority for urgent conservation.
Abstract Preview
Original paper
Climate-driven spatial patterns of diversity, phenology, and habitat suitability in Pyrenaria (Theaceae) across Northeast India.
Forests of Northeast India, a global biodiversity hotspot, are increasingly threatened by climate change and human disturbances, placing narrowly distributed plant species at risk of extinction. Th...
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Pyrenaria is a genus of flowering plants in the family Theaceae. It includes 27 species native to tropical Asia, ranging from the eastern Indian subcontinent to Indochina, western Malesia, southern China, and Taiwan.